Bill would create lifetime protection for abuse victims

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March 21, 2012|By Megan Strader | KWCH 12 Eyewitness News

(WICHITA, Kan.) — They're meant to keep victims safe, and now the Kansas Legislature is looking at making changes to how long protection-from-abuse orders are good for.

House Bill 2613, which is expected to make it to the governor's desk, would create the possibility of "lifetime protection"

Click Here to Read the Bill

"I can't begin to tell you, unless I have my paper in front of me, the injustices that my daughter and have both gone through."

Kristy didn't want us to use her legal name, but because of her experiences, has been leading the fight for lawmakers to try and make a "lifetime protection from abuse order" a reality.

In 2003, her daughters father plead no contest to aggravated battery after breaking the one month old baby's arm. And while he's currently in prison, Kristy says he's made comments about being with his daughter, without her, when he's released.

"I changed our names and social security numbers. I've had my child fingerprinted, I've save her teeth for DNA in case of a future abduction."

Currently, if you're looking for protection, you need to fill out paperwork with the county giving reasons for the protection. You will also have to go through a hearing with a judge. If approved, the order will be good for one year. That's a big thing the bill would change - extending the timeframe of those orders up to the lifetime of the offender.

"It's going to make sentencing harsher, it's going to make it easier where I don't have to think about going back every single year and trying to prove I need protection. That's another thing, victims are having to try and prove that they need a protection order and many are being denied and many are being killed."

Kristy hopes help isn't far off, with a legislative committee expected to finish work on the bill next week, and a governor's signature expected shortly after.

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